Kal and others

[Fishbone]

Kal and others - we wanted to thank you for all your wonderful posts - especially those pertaining to Maho beach. They have been so helpful!

 

In June, we are traveling on the Carnival Glory and one of our ports will be St Maarten. Last year, we pre-planned our day there and had an absolutely great time. This year, we'd like to do almost the same thing. I have a few questions I was hoping someone could answer. Here's our plan:

 

8AM to 10:30AM - Take cab to Marigot, explore Fort St Louis, have breakfast at a cafe

 

10:30 to 2PM - Tak cab to Maho beach, watch the planes, have lunch at the Sunset Beach Bar

 

2PM to 4:30 - Take cab to Philipsburg, explore Ft Amsterdam & Ft Willem

 

Question: Do you know if Ft Amsterdam & Ft Willem are within walking distance to the main shops in Philipsburg? I've searched and searched, but can't actually find a distance. We're hoping to get dropped off af Ft Amsterdam after a few hours at Maho beach, walk to Ft Willem, and then walk back to the shops.

 

Question: Do you know when the bridge is up in June? We'd like to leave Maho at about 2PM, but I'm not sure about the traffic at that time.

 

Thanks so much for any replies.

[The Big Booper]

In the past, Kal has posted a link to the bridge openings. I would just open up your search window to 6 months and check out any likely threads, eliminating threads about tours, etc.

[gtaylor]

From the local paper of May 7th:

 

SIMPSON BAY--Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation (SLAC) will revert to the regular three bridge openings per day for both inbound and outbound traffic, SLAC announced last night.

 

This arrangement will remain in place for the duration of the off season – from May to November.

 

The new opening times effective today are 9:30am, 11:30am and 5:30pm, according to a press release issued by the Government Information Service (GIS).

 

<snip>

[gtaylor]

<snip>

2PM to 4:30 - Take cab to Philipsburg, explore Ft Amsterdam & Ft Willem

 

Question: Do you know if Ft Amsterdam & Ft Willem are within walking distance to the main shops in Philipsburg? I've searched and searched, but can't actually find a distance. We're hoping to get dropped off af Ft Amsterdam after a few hours at Maho beach, walk to Ft Willem, and then walk back to the shops.

 

Short answer is NO. That certainly will not work. I will try to respond in detail tomorrow.

 

gary

[Fishbone]

Thanks gtaylor! I appreciate the info you provided on the bridge openings and would love to hear anything you have on the forts.

[gtaylor]

Here's a Google Earth view of the area.

 

As you can see, the Forts aren't exactly in downtown Philipsburg.

 

The distance from Fort Amsterdam to the Little Pier, downtown, is about 1.5 miles. The distance is probably walkable, but the route is not.

 

Much of the route from the Divi resort towards downtown is called Link-1. It is the equivalent of a highway on St. Maarten. There is very limited walking space, and it is certainly unsafe.

 

Fort Amsterdam is located 'above' the Divi Resort on Little Bay. I.E. you have to walk through the resort to get to the fort. It is a great spot, and has fantastic views of Great Bay, downtown Philipsburg and your cruise ship across the bay. I found a good (recent) shot of the fort here on Cruise Critic. Look at the second photo in this thread.

 

I haven't been to Fort Willem. I tried, once, to drive up there, but the road seemed impassable. Perhaps it is walkable? But the fort is on the top of a relatively high hill. They put tv transmission towers up there. I have spent a lot of time looking for a picture, but just can't come up with one.

 

I'd suggest you do your tour, with a stop at Divi for Fort Amsterdam, then a taxi back into Philipsburg for shopping.

 

gary

 

p.s. If I find pictures of Willem, I'll post them.

[Fishbone]

Thanks so much gtaylor! I really appreciate you taking the time to post again. The Google Earth view was very helpful. After Marigot and Maho, I think we will try to take a cab to Ft Amsterdam. After a brief exploration, I’ll see if we can take another cab to Ft Willem and then back to Philipsburg.

We’d really like to see the other forts. Last year, we were the only ones at Ft Louis and were quite surprised as the hike up there wasn’t bad at all and the view was great.

I’ll post upon our return and let you know how our adventure went. Thanks again for your help.

[Rysyonok]

I’ll see if we can take another cab to Ft Willem and then back to Philipsburg.

 

Fishbone, I am curious to find out if you were able to get to Ft. Willem and what was it like. Was it worth the trek?